Baretti: A dictionary of the English and Italian languages
Di, prep.
1. (a sign of the genitive case) of. — me, of me. — voi, of you; 2. with, by. Egli fu ferito — spada, he was wounded with a sword; 3. in. Così è — verità, it is thus, in truth; 4. sometimes di is understood. A casa questo, to this man's house; 5. for. E — certo se voi non foste venuto, and for certain had you not come; 6. than (importing comparison).Più ricco — me, richer than I. Maggiore di tuo fratello, older than thy brother;7. from. — giorno in —, from day to day. Mi fu tolto il cappello — testa, they took my hat from off my head; 8. Di is sometimes used rather for elegance' sake than from necessity. Sotto — me, under me; 9. to (when before the infinitive of a verb). Godo — vederla, I am glad to see you; 10. among. Il più cortese — quanti mai io ne vedessi, the most polite among all whom I have ever seen; 11. a particle of quantity, but not expressed in English. Jeri vi fu — molta gente nel parco,there were a great many people in the park yesterday.
Díre, v. a. (dic-o, -i, -e, -ciamo, dite, -cono, imperf. diceva, &c., pass. dis-si, -se, -sero, fut. dirò, &c., imper. di tu, dica egli, &c., part. detto,)
1. to tell, say, speak, talk, relate. Pigliar a —, to begin to speak. Venir a —, to express. Aver che —, to have something to say. Voler —, to mean, signify. Che vuol — ciò?what is the meaning of this? Aver che — con alcuno, to have a dispute with any one. Non c'è che dire, there is no fault to be found. — a bocca, to say by word of mouth. — addio,to take leave of a person, to bid farewell to. Dir villania, to abuse, revile, call names. Di<*> male, to slander. Dir bene, to praise. Andar dicendo, to give out, spread a report. Dir di sì, to say, yes. Dir di nò, to say, no; 2. to own, confess; 3. to tell, speak of, mention; 4. to answer; 5. to bid. Digli di venire domani,bid him come to-morrow; 6. (comm. t.) to have the commission for, the care or management of; 7. to call, name. Ciò vien detto così in Italiano, this is so called in Italian<*> Cioè a dire, that is to say, that is.
Florio: a worlde of wordes, or most copious, dictionarie in Italian and English
di: o, God, Almightie God.
dire: to say, to speake, to vtter, to report, to tell. Also to name, to call, to hight, or yelip, vsed also to discouer, or manifest by speech.
